Easy and Quick Chickpea Soup on a Cold Winter’s Day

It is freaking COLD here! I read that a few days ago Melbourne was the coldest city in the world one morning! That is crazy cold.

Max has been leaving home at 7am, which means its still cold and dark outside and the sun is no where to be seen. He was sniffling and feeling under the weather so yesterday I offered to make whatever he wanted to eat. He said “Chickpea Soup”. So, here it is – chickpea soup for a cold Winter’s day. Its super easy and is made up mostly of pantry staples that I always have on hand anyway (actually, on that note, we only have 1 can of chickpeas left in the pantry after this and I forgot to buy it when going grocery shopping for the coming week….sigh).

This dish is super easy and quick to make, perfect for when you’re feeling a bit under the weather.

Add the chickpea liquid and 2 cups of vegetable stock. Bring it to a boil, uncovered.

Once boiling, add bay leaves, carrots, mushrooms, dried basil, salt and chilli flakes. Reduce heat a bit so that it is gently boiling, cover and cook for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, uncover and mash the chickpeas (I don’t have a potato masher or immersion blender so I just do this part by hand using a spoon). Mash most of the chickpeas to make the soup nice and creamy but leave a few chickpeas whole for texture.

Taste and add more salt or herbs if needed. Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and remove from heat.

If you like, you can fry the remaining garlic (the sliced ones) on a pan and use it as a topping. I did this and found that it adds a nice taste to the soup 🙂

Serve with a sprinkle of spring onions, fresh chilli and garlic (or any combination of those, or any other toppings that find your fancy).

Enjoy. You could eat this with crusty bread or by itself as a hearty soup.